The Labyrinth Outside
by imsmith
Summary: He held out a crystal to her, and she accepted. But what if she could escape the Labyrinth and return Aboveground? This is her story.
1. In the Ballroom

The glitter. The lights. The gowns. The intrigues. They were all she had ever known. All she could remember knowing. Some part of her cried that she had to have done _something;_ had parents or friends while she was growing up, but even that thought vanished, and she wondered if she was ever young, or had just always been. Sometimes, she could almost remember what happened before the parties, the castle. Something before Jareth. But most of the time the idea of anything before Jareth was so beyond her it didn't even bear thinking about.

Her life was a series of parties, petty courts, balls, social gatherings…she was surprised that such endless events didn't bore her to death, but they never did. She slept all day and woke up just in time to get ready. She didn't eat. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure she slept during the day. Was there even day in this place? Who knew? Who cared? It was just a hazy period of time; everything was hazy…until him. No one could miss his entrance. The regal air, the impeccable fashion sense, the…the everything that made him Jareth. He was the reason she tried so hard each night, with her hair wrapped in rags to create perfect curls and awkward cosmetics painted on her face. Every prayer she uttered was Jareth. But she knew he would never care about her. If he so much as glanced her way, she froze. And if he ever spoke to her…she knew she could never respond while looking into those mismatched eyes.

But he never did.

In fact, he hardly ever looked at her; she was nothing extraordinary. But tonight, something was different. Nothing had been said, no rumor flung about, but something was not the same. She had not felt this feeling before, this fluttery jittery feeling that made her rip her dress and burn her hair and stumble over the trivial tasks that she performed every night. But at last, she was ready.

The ballroom was the same as always, but she still felt that something was different. What, she couldn't quite tell. The walls were as they always had been; the tables full of untouched food remained. Even the lights were constant. For a second she wondered how the candles didn't flicker like they did at home. She was always having to relight them and Mamma…wait. What was that? Something about candles…but it was gone. That annoying flicker of before had lasted only a few seconds. She tried to remember, but then found she couldn't.

For _he_ had walked in.

Breathtakingly beautiful. Not handsome, it was not like that; he was more like an exotic creature or…she didn't have the words to describe what he was. As usual, his gaze rested on no one, he was the same King. Not that _he_ could ever bore her, but she felt that if something in all this sameness could change, it would be him. But Jareth remained as he was; amazing, charming, unreachable. Then why did she feel different? Of course, since she couldn't remember Before, how could she possibly hope to remember what happened last night or the one before or….

And then a girl appeared.

That was it. She was what was different; that girl, with the sparkling dress and innocent eyes. What was she doing here, in the nest of selfish desires and contemptuous betrayals? Her purity made her outshine them all; a girl-child so blameless and naïve that she held more power than any dancer pretended to. Look, she was shrinking as everyone stared at her, when anyone else dancing in this room in her place would have gloated over their victory. It seemed that everyone wanted to look at this girl…even Jareth.

Oh, he toyed with her, making the poor girl get hopelessly lost, but all the dancers knew he would have her. And he did. She looked even more timid in his arms as they danced. It made Jareth draw closer, and everyone else whisper. The other dancers had overcome their awe of this innocent in their midst, and jeered openly at her. Someone had learned the girl's name. Disdainful whispers of Sarah flowed through the hall. They hated her even more because that girl still remembered her name, still had one. Every one else had lost theirs long ago. Perhaps it was the mocking laughter that drew Sarah out of her reverie, away from Jareth. And then she did the impossible; _she broke through the dream._

Never had that happened before. As everything swirled around the dancers, myriad memories rolled through one dancer's head. A girl who sometimes remembered Before, if only for a short time. As the past raced through her brain, she desperately tried to keep track of any of them, but they were flowing so fast. She couldn't hold onto a picture for more than a few seconds.

And then.

And then.

She remembered her name.

Erin.

Clinging possessively to this one scrap, she floated through broken glass and dancers. She hardly noticed the pandemonium surrounding her, holding on to that one memory, terrified she would lose it as she had lost everything before. She struggled to hold onto this lifeline, chanting it; a kind of mantra that was known only to her.

Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin…


	2. Rememberance

Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin…

She could feel that hazy sleep coming to claim her, but she refused to let it. She had her name now, she would hold onto it for as long as she could. She held on for hours, instinctively knowing that Sarah had only a few hours left before she lost. But Erin couldn't dwell on that; it took so much effort to hang onto her name. She was still floating between the glass and shattered furniture, the only one left of the entire ballroom. There was nothing left of the room except for the floating debris, everything else was darkness. She just had to hold on, hold on…till what? But she couldn't think about that or she would forget, and everything would spiral into the unknowingness of before.

Hours passed, Sarah must be near the end…she could hear the bells ringing. Those thirteen ungodly chimes sending tremors through her bones. And then she felt it. A weakness in whatever anchored her to this dream world. Using all of her effort, she shoved at the something that was holding her back, but it wasn't working, and she was falling, falling, falling still.

Please let me keep my name.

Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin…

She was clutching at the grass, still chanting her name. She just hoped…wait, grass? Grass! Not the sparkling dirt of the Labyrinth or the polished floors of the ballroom, but beautiful, wonderful green grass! She was free! Erin, for she was in no danger of losing it now, threw her head back and gazed at the sky. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen stars. Or the sky. The last time was when…

And then the memories came flooding back, no longer curbed by the enchantment of the labyrinth. The small farm with its mundane chores. Her giggling circle of friends. Her mother, her father. Her brother. God in Heaven, her brother. She remembered how all her other siblings had died, except for this one. This bratty little brother whom only added to her chores. Her mother had no time for her anymore, and father hadn't had much to begin with. But she would never have thought that her parents would forbid her to see her friends on her birthday. Never would have thought they would have kept her inside to watch over her bawling baby brother. They wouldn't even let her see her friends for an hour, it was so unfair! Why had she made that wish? How could she possibly think that he was any trouble to her? And now he was Jareth's minion. Doomed forever by a selfish, bratty sister. Her other siblings had been lost to diseases and accidents, but this brother's loss was on her hands. She remembered now. She didn't even last thirteen hours in Jareth's labyrinth. She remembered it so well.

_Five of her precious hours had passed. She had to go faster. Heart beating rapidly, she could no longer take the long measured strides that had carried her through the maze these past hours. She ran. She ran and ran and ran and ran, heedlessly jumping over debris, probably missing the turns that she should have taken, or who knows what. Her feet barely touched the ground, they were flying so quickly. But they did not fly quickly enough when the stones suddenly gave out underneath her feet. _

_Down, down, down she fell, hitting the bottom with a dull thud. She was in an oubliette. How long she was down there, she never knew, but with every second her fear and panic grew. When she thought she could stand it no longer, a dim light grew in one corner. Eager for any source of light she grabbed at it. It was a crystal. But there was something moving over its surface…dancers, and a ball of some sort? She fell into the fantasy world, unable to resist…_

Thus began her time in her dream world. The memories rushed in with such a force that each one was a physical blow. Tears seeped from her closed eyes until there was a continuous river. Erin threw herself on the grass and wept for her family and her life, which she had so carelessly thrown away. At last, exhausted, Erin gave into her fatigue and slept.


	3. Awakening

Voices. 

Erin's head pounded as the bright light blazed through her eyelids. She hadn't had a headache since…since before the labyrinth. She still felt disoriented from remembering, from being…Erin again. That fairy tale girl in a ball gown was never really her. _That _girl was a puppet, a nameless doll who thought of nothing but parties, and dresses—and Jareth. Erin began to shiver. Even outside of the ballroom, outside the labyrinth, she could still feel the pull of his gaze, the hunger for his voice. She knew that if he were to offer her a crystal a second time, if he were to appear right now, she would take it. In spite of everything, she would not hesitate. And _that _terrified her. In spite of everything, she would willingly go back to being a doll, a plaything for his pleasure. She hated Jareth. She hated what he had made her become, that he had shown her how selfish and monstrous a person she really was. She hated that she still wanted to dance within the circle of his arms, feel the brush of his feathery hair as he whispered to her. She hated that all the disgust in the world would disintegrate if he appeared before her again. 

But that would never happen. She was out of the labyrinth, and she would never see him again. She was an entranced thrall no more. She would never again wish—she knew now that wishes were dangerous. That wishes could take you away from your home, and your family, and your brother…the memories threatened to overwhelm her again, but she beat them down.

Voices. 

She had forgotten they were there. Erin's eyes blinked against the strong sunlight…but she was inside. The room was a bright white, and the light was blinding, but it wasn't the sun. 

"…just found her laying there in the grass. Wouldn't wake up even when I shook her. Don't know what happened to her. Kids show up drunk around the neighborhood all the time these days, but I've never had one pass out in our yard…"

"Well, there isn't any alcohol in her system, though she's been dehydrated. We've been putting liquids into her all night, but other than that, she should be fine. Have you seen her anywhere before?"

"Never in my life. But then the house down the street is always having parties. My wife's had to call the police twice, _twice _in the past three weeks alone. And now this girl shows up in rags…"

Erin groaned. She could understand the _words _they were saying, but she had no idea what they were talking about. They were oddly dressed, too. One man wore a pale blue shirt and pants with shoes that looked almost as if they were made out of cloth. The other man wore pants made out of an odd, faded material. His shirt had words on it. She had never seen a shirt with words before. 

"We haven't been able to find any sort of identification on her. Nothing." The man in the blue outfit was noting something on a yellow piece of paper. There was writing _every_where here. The walls were covered with rectangular sheets. She turned her head to look at a somewhat disturbing drawing of a skinned human body. _What is this place? _She shifted to get a better look around her, and felt something tug in her arm. She looked down and saw _something_ sticking in the crook of her arm, attached to a clear tube that fed up towards a bag, hanging on a shiny silver post. Erin shrieked. 

"Get it out get it out get it out get it out!" She was panting. She clawed at the tube in her arm. The man in blue leapt up and pushed her back against the bed. A detached part of Erin's mind noticed that she was wearing an odd, shapeless dress of stiff, thin fabric that ripped as she tried to jerk out of her captor's hands. Erin bucked as she tried to throw the man off of her. 

"Hang on, hang on!" he was saying. "Calm down! You're making it worse." Erin became more frantic to get _it _out of her arm. "I'll take it out, you're making it worse. Calm down! Stay still and I'll take it out!" Erin stilled herself, with an effort. "Jesus," said the man, as he slowly released her shoulders. 

"Get it out of me," Erin could feel the panic rising in her stomach. "Please." She had no idea where she was, and she didn't know this strange man, but she just wanted to get away from this place and back to the soothing hills and grass. She watched as the man slowly pulled a shiny sliver of silver from her arm. She felt a measure of calm return to her. 

"Are you sure that's all right?" The man wearing the shirt with words was staring at her. 

"She was almost finished with the liquids any way. I'd rather take it out than risk her having a panic attack and ripping a hole in her arm." The man in the pale blue clothing turned as he set the sliver on the table behind her. She felt dizzy and the smell of the place was making her nauseous. She felt closed in. She needed to get out. Erin didn't hesitate, and threw herself off the bed and out into the hallway. The hall was empty as she raced down the white corridor. She didn't know where she was going, her only thought was to get _away. _She heard the shout of one of the men behind her, and the answering shouts nearby. Her heart pounded as she ran blindly though the halls. The place was a labyrinth in itself—they would surely catch her before she could…wait, wait! There! A door, with glowing green letter on top! She slammed through the door and felt the cool night air caress her cheeks. She ran out onto the street, and stopped.

There were buildings everywhere. And they were so tall! Erin tilted her head back to look at the looming buildings. The street was huge, and covered in black rock that stank and felt unnaturally hard on her bare feet. She jumped out of the way as a large metal _something _that hurtled past her, and a man inside shouting obscenities at her; the loud screeching as he flew past was making her headache pound. The lights were an odd orange color on the edges of the street, but she could see green, red, and pink lights flickering in the distance. She looked up and saw three stars glittering feebly beyond the bright lights below. 

"Where am I?" she whispered. 


	4. To Deal With A Demon

"Hey, you!" Erin spun. The man in blue had followed her out! She raced across the strange black surface, the metal…blocks? Carriages?...rushing towards her. One skidded right in front of her. Erin felt her breath stop as she waited for it to hit her, but object somehow stopped itself, letting out a loud blaring noise. It was enough to get Erin's limbs moving again, she launched herself over the top the object. She could hear the blue man cursing as another metal object skidded to a stop a handspan from him; she left him behind her as she scrambled into a back alley.

The glare of the lights was less obvious here, and up ahead Erin could see a clearing with trees and grass and no black stuff to sting her feet. Her dress kept ripping—not that it covered much to begin with, but if she kept running for much longer, she would be completely indecent. Erin added an extra spurt of energy as she jumped over the low metal fence with all the ease of a practiced country girl. She landed with a giant _rrrrrrrip _and winced as the cool night air discovered new patches of uncovered skin. She could hear the sounds of her pursuer close behind her, and, holding her dress for dear life, she dove behind the cover of a bush nearby. Erin could feel her heart returning to normal. Now out of the outlandish surroundings of lights and metal, she could pretend that she was hiding from their neighbor after she had stolen apples from his orchard. This was familiar to her, in its own way.

She heard the man in blue wheezing as he approached the fence. She listened as his footsteps shuffled first one way, then the next, and his disgusted sigh as he left the alleyway. Erin smiled; her first triumph outside the Labyrinth.

The breeze whipped around her, and Erin felt the chill of reality close in on her.

"Alright," she muttered to herself. "You are…essentially naked, you are lost in a place where people poke you with tubes and chase you, you have no food and…you just escaped from fairy tale kingdom where you've been dreaming for God knows how many years. But," she said, examining herself, "I don't seem that much worse for wear. Except for my feet." She scrunched her nose at her dirty, scratched feet. But her little talk seemed to have helped. She hadn't really said anything out loud since she had awakened in the white room, and she spoke mostly to remember how her voice sounded. The Labyrinth had a way of…clouding things. Had she even spoken in the Labyrinth? She closed her eyes her eyes and tried to remember, but it come rushing back too quickly; the swirl of gowns and candlelight threatened to overwhelm her…she felt herself being called back…_Look into this crystal, Erin. It will show you your dreams…_

"NO!!" Erin yanked herself back to the grass, the bushes, the trees surrounding her. Had she almost been pulled back into the Labyrinth? Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest, but each agonized beat reminded her that she was not _there _any more. She had freed herself from that place. "I am not going back!" she shouted defiantly the sky.

"Do you mind?" a voice drawled behind her. Erin felt her blood freeze in her veins where it had been pounding moments before. She turned slowly, agonizingly and saw… a booted calf dangling in her face. She tilted her head up. Sitting in the tree was…

"Jareth," she whispered. The world was swaying around her.

"If you're going to collapse, pray do it away from the rhodenderons." The voice continued conversationally. "It would be a terrible bother if you upset the garden fairies around here. I prefer to deal with nasty little buggers as little as possible." He shifted his head slightly, and Erin felt her heart stir again as she realized she was seeing ebon black hair, not silvery blonde and a matching set of grey eyes.

"You're…not Jareth." She said, not a question, but not exactly sure of herself, either.

The man sighed, inspecting his fingernails. "No, I'm not your Jareth, though I rather expect I'm something a good deal worse." He smiled a predatory smile so like Jareth's that Erin wasn't so sure any more. Could Jareth change his appearance?

"How…how would you be worse?" He merely smiled at her again. "Um…do you know if there's someone who could help me?"

"Yes, well, there's usually a relief crew for ragged runaways, but they took the night off tonight."

"Oh, yes," she whispered, embarrassed. She was certain he was making fun of her, but she didn't understand what a relief crew was. Or why they were taking the night off. "I mean, is there…a place…or something…" He was laughing at her, she could feel it. "…or food, at least?" she finished helplessly.

"Let me think; someone who feed a delinquent child with no money and an officer chasing after her?" He was toying with something in his hands, but in the ark she couldn't see what. "There's really only one person within one hundred miles of here who would do such a thing." He smiled at her again. "Me."

"You!" Erin squeaked. She did _not _want anything to do with this man.

"Yes." His eyes gleamed in the moonlight as his gaze traveled down her body. "I'm sure we can think of…_some…_form of payment." Erin felt herself blanch. He laughed, and it sent shivers down her spine. "No, no. I won't ravage you. Virginity is overrated. No, I'm much more interested in why you stink of old magic."

"It's not mine. I can't do anything. I was just…under a spell. It was just a spell."

"Yes, well, we'll see. There's enough magic rolling off of you that I can practically bottle it and sell it to the nearest warlock on a street corner. And if it turns out to be too disappointing, I can always dump you back here in the same condition you're in now."

"I think I'll take my chances out there." Erin looked out at the distant lights flickering around them. She didn't trust someone who looked so much like Jareth.

"Really?" Contempt colored his voice now. "You wouldn't last five minutes out there. You hardly lasted your run from the hospital. Do you know what a car is? A sidewalk? Denim?" Erin shook her head. "Well, then, I suggest you take my offer. I guarantee you there won't be anything better coming your way." He scanned her body again, only this time she could feel him weighing and measuring every ounce of her. "At least, not any offers _you'd _enjoy." Another gust of wind cut through her. Erin gathered herself.

"I want food, clothing, and safe lodging for…three nights. And in return you can…_I _can tell you about the magic on me."

"Deal." He jumped down and stepped into the light. Erin suddenly realized why he reminded her so much of Jareth. It was because he was fey. She had just made a deal with another fey.


End file.
